Needle threader



J. C. LOUNSBURY NEEDLE THEEADER" Filed June 8, 1944 Aug. "14,- 1945...v

2 Sheets-Sheet l m Y, m E l m I im 1H Patented Aug. 14, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE NEEDLE THREADER John C. Lounsbury, Washington, D. C.

Application June 8, 1944, Serial No. 539,252 l 7 Claims.

to modification of and improvements upon the4 type of needle threader shown in my U. S. Letters Patent No. 2,210,943, dated August 13, 1940, whereby the threader is especially adapted for the threading of hand sewing needles.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a needle threader of the above kind in which cooperating fingers are automatically actuated for rotating the needle so as to properly position the eye of said needle for reception of the threading pin and preparatory to the movement of said threading pin through the eye of the needle in the threading operation.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a needle threader ofthe above character in which a sliding actuating plate operates to place a spring under compression so that the latter will swing a lever for moving the threading pin through the eye of the needle, and in which movement of the actuating plate in a direction to relieve thel compression of the spring effects withdrawal of the threading pin'from the eye of the needle and clamping of the loop of the thread which has been passed through the needle eye, thereby causing the thread to be pulled further through the eye of the needle for completing the threading operation immediately following withdrawal of the threading pin from the needle eye. p

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a needle threader of' the above character in which the needle rotating fingers are spring-actuated for rotating the needle, and in which the sliding actuating plate causes separation of the needle rotating fingers `immediately subsequent to withdrawal f the threading pin from the needle eye.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the invention consists in the novel form, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, shown in the drawings and claimed.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views- Figure -1 is an enlarged perspective View of a needle threader constructed in accordance .with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a horizontal section taken substantially on the plane of the line 2-2 of Figure 1 and enlarged further, the parts being positioned ready for the needle threading operation.

Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal section taken substantially on the line 3--3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a transverse vertical rsection taken on the line 4 4 of Figure 3.

Figure5 is a view mainly in horizontal section on line 5 5 of Figure 3, but also showing an end of the linstalled crank lever and the adjacent threading pin. l

Figure 6 is a fragmentary detail view showing the needle rotating fingers in position preparatory to being actuated'for rotating the needle.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary section somewhat similar to Figure 2,V but showing the threading pin projected throughthe eye of the needle and the needle rotating fingers positioned to grip the needle eye after having rotated the needle.

Figure 8 is a perspective view illustrating the manner in which the threading pin forces the thread loop through the eye of the needle. f

Referring in detail to the drawings, the invention includes a flat substantially rectangular casing 5 that is open at the ends. Fitted Within and secured upon the bottom of the casing 5 is a plate B having transverse upstanding ribs 'I and 8 at the ends thereof Whose upper faces Contact the undersurfaces of the top wall of casing 5 at the' ends of the latter. The top and bottom walls of casing 5 and the end of plate 6 provided with ribs 1 are cut away intermediate the sides thereof so as to provide an entrance slot 9 for the thread'. The inner shoulder of rib 1 at one side of slot 9 serves to provide a fixed thread loop clamping jaw at I0, as and for a purpose which will be later made apparent. At the inner end of :slot 9, the plate 6 and the casing` are provided with vertically aligned notches at one side of said slot 9 as indicated at ll. The notches Il in the casing are slightly deeper than that in the plate 6 as brought out in Figurevi, and centrally of the notch ll in plate 6 there is provided a vertical narrow slot I2 as shown more clearly in Figures 4 and 6 that ultimately receives the thread as it is looped about the adjacent end of the casing'and across the notches Il at the adjacent side yof the slot 9. At the opposite side of the inner end portion of slot 9, and directly in transverse alignment with the notches Il, the bottom wall of the casing 5 has a projecting portion I3 in the upper surface of which is provided a recess I4 adapted to form a seat for reception of the eye end of the needle notches II are formed, the plate 6 is provided with a partition block I5 that is spaced slightly rearwardly from the adjacent portion of the rib 1 so as to provide a transverse space at I 6 in which is snugly received and slidably guided an end portion of a threading pin I1. In this way, the

threading pin has its end portion maintained in l alignment with the slot I2 and the needle seat I4 transversely of the device, so that when the threading pin is moved transversely of the casing in a direction toward the needle eye its free end will engage the thread and force the samey in the form of a loop IB through the eye I9 of the needle as clearly illustrated' in Figure 8.

for limiting the swinging movement of said lever I8. One furcation 20 of the arm |817- is slotted' at 2| to loosely receive an angularly bent end 22 ofA the threading pin yI1 whereby the latter is operatively connected to said lever I8. Slidably mounted on the plate I?v adjacent the front of the casing and at the side of the latter opposite' to that at which the lever arm ISD is located l is an actuating plate 23. Fla-te 23 is guided by pins 24 and 25 engaged in longitudinal elongated slots 2tY and 21 of said plate 23'. A longitudinal elongated sfot 28 is provided in the top wall of casing 5, and fixed to andprojecting-upwardly from the plater 3 isa pin 29 that also loosely extends upwardly through the slot 28 and terminates'at its upper end in a knob 30. By pressing rearwardly on pin 29, the plate 23' may obviously be slid rearwardly. A U-shaped leaf spring 39' isl disposed in the casing above the plate 6 and has one end secured at 3l to the free end of lever arm I8a, the other end of said spring 3U being secured at 32 to the rear end of plate 23 adjacent` the outer side of the latter.' The arrangementl is such that when plate 23I is slid rearwardly,

spring -3l! is placed under compression so as to rock lever I8 in a direction to cause threading pin I1 to move transversely of the casing for forcing the thread loop t8 through the needle eye I9. On the other hand, when the plate 23 slides forwardly, compression of spring 39 is relieved and lever I8 is causedv to swing to the full line position of Figure `2 wherein the threading pin I1 is withdrawn from the needle eye. In actual practice, reciprocation of threading pin I1 takes place substantially instantaneously so as to 1 quickly thread the needle and withdraw the threading pin from the needleV eye in rapid succession. However, means may be provided to releasably lock the plate 23 in its rearwardly slid position in case the pin 29 is forced rearwardly a sufficient distance to fully complete the threading. movement of threading pin I1 through the needle eye. For this purpose, the forward end of slot 21 has a lateralextension 323 into which the guide pin may ride as plate 23 approaches its rearward limit of movement, such action being had by reason of the tilting action of vspring 30 on plate 23 at this time. In other words, spring 30, being attached to plate 23 near the outer side of the latter, acts to horizontally swingthe plate i5 Pivoted upon the plate 6 within the easing 5- is 5. Finger 38 is pivoted at its rear .end to the to be threaded. At the side of slot 9 where the 23 from the position of Figure 2 to the position of Figure 7 in case plate 23 has Ibeen shifted rearwardly to its fullest extent. This prevents retraction of the threading pin unless and until it has been given a complete threading stroke. It will be noted that the free end of lever arm |817 has a lateral inwardly extending enlargement 34, and plate 23 is provided at its inner side and adjacent its front end with a lateral enlargement 35. These enlargements are se formed that when the threading movement of pin I.'l= is fully completed, enlargement 34 will engage enlargement 35 and swing plate 23 in a direction to disengag'e pin 25 from slot extension 33, thereby permitting the return of plate 23 to its initial forward position and allowing lever I8 to retract the threading pin I1 from the' eye of the needle.

As shown more clearly in Figure5, plate 6 is provided -centrally of its forward end with a relatively large slot or recess 39 within which are disposed needle rotating and needle eye gripping fingers 31 and 38. 'Finger 31 has'v longitudinal slots 39 which slidably receive pins 49 fixed to and projecting upwardly' from the bottom of casing 5. In this way, finger 31a' is mounted for longitudinal sliding movement relative to the casing bottom of casingy 5 as at 4i, for lateral swinging movement. Finger 31 has a laterally andforwardly extending lug portion 42 at itsl innerI side which engages in a correspondingly extending slot or'recess 43 in the adjacent side-ofnger 38. A spring 44 acts to yieldingly urge the finger 38 toward finger 31, and when this is permitted finger-31 is simultaneously caused to have a forward sliding movement due to the engagement of the obliquely extending lug 42 in the similarly extending slot 43 of finger .38. 'Fixed to and projecting -upwardly from' the finger' 38 forwardly of its pivot 4I: is a pin 45 that engages in a slot 46 provided in the front end ofaplate `2.3.

One side of slot 46 is: obliquely disposedwith. re"

spectto the longitudinal axis of the casing, 5, the arrangement Abeing 'such that when plate 23' is shifted forwardly, ity acts upon; pin v45y toswfing finger 3'8 away from linger 31. When happens, the engagement edil-ugv 42v in s101243 brings about. a rearward sliding movement otiinger` 31 so vthat the needle eyer is -released when `the threading pin I1 is` retracted. On thev 'other hand, when. plate 23 is slid rearwardly'it disen-V gages from` pin 45, thereby allowing spring 44h-,to swing nger 38 toward finger 31. Ther latter ac.- tion brings about forward movement of'nger'31 and swinging movement of finger 38 toward ger 31 so that said fingers will act to rotate the needle and then tightly grip the needle eye therebetween, 'holding the needle in position `so that i-ts eye is properly registered with the threading pin I1 and insuring proper passage of plate ,23

continues to bring about the threading vstrekeof threading pin I1. As previously noted; forward movement. ofv plate 23 causes retraction of the threading pin Hand thence cau-sesnger 38 to swing away from finger 31 against the action of. spring. 44, simultaneously shifting finger 3:1- rearward-ly to release the needle. Itwill be.l noted that at the inner side of slot 46, plate 23 has a nose portion 41- that moves into close proximity to the jaw portion Hl of rib I when plate v2.3 reaches its forward limit of movement and irnmedia-tely after therlngers` 31l and 3& are released from the needle and threading pin t1 has. been retracted from the needle eye.` this way, the

nose portion 41 coacts with the jaw portion to tightly clampv the thread loop and prevent its withdrawal from the needle'eye. Thus, when the needle lisV elevated the thread loop I8 is pulled furtherthrough the needle ye until one end of the thread passes completely through said needle eye, thereby completing the threading operation. By then holding the threadand vneedle against relative displacement, disengagement of the thread from between the nose portion 41 and jaw portion I0 may be manually effected with slight .eifortupon slight'rearward movement of plate 23.

A longitudinally split needle guide 48 is carried byfa'bracket 49 fixed upon the top of casing 5 so fthat the passage of guide 48 is vertically aligned'with the needle seat I4. Thus, when a needle is inserted downwardly through the guide 48" with its eye portion lowermost, said eye portion vwill loe-effectively guided to the seat I4 and the needle will be supported in proper vertical position for being threaded. As the guide 48 is split longitudinally as indicated at 50, the thread may be disengaged from said guide 48 when the needle is withdrawn therefrom after completion .f

ofthe threading operation.

It 'is important to maintain the loop thread in a taut conditionpreparatory toand during the threading opera-tion and while a portion of the thread vis disposed in the slot I2 for being forced y intheform of a loop through the needle eye. For this purpose, a thread tension device of any well known or preferred constructionis rigidly mounted as indicated at 5I upon one side of the forward end portion of the casing 5said tension device being such that it may have the two strands of the looped end of the thread readily engaged infthe same or disengaged therefrom. When the thread has been properly looped and engaged in the vtension device 5I, the pin 29 is forced rearwardly to bring about the threading operation in the manner already described. After completion of the threading operation, the thread is disengaged from the tension device 5I and the threaded needle is withdrawn from the device.

From the foregoing description, it is believed that the construction and operation, as well as the yadvantages of the present invention, will be readily ,understood and appreciated by those.

skilled in the art.

In actual practice, the present device has been found very efficient for the intended purpose and the organization of parts is such as to insure long continued efficient operation without requiring adjustment or repair. While I have illustrated and described a preferred construction in considerable detail, it will be apparent that minor changes may be made such as fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What I claim as new is:

l. A device for threading hand sewing needles comprising a casing, a threading pin mounted to slide transversely in the casing, guide means in the path of the pin and of the needle for receiving a loop of thread, a lever connected lto the pin for moving the pin to carry the loop through the eye' of the needle, a horizontal actuating plate mounted in the casing for horizontal rectilinear movement, a single spring connected to the lever and to the actuating plate adapted to be compressed when the actuating plate is moved rearwardly and adapted to expand and withdraw the threading pin from the eye of the needle when the actuating plate is moved forwardly, and cooperfatingmembers on the actuating plate 'and-the f casing for'clarnping vthe loop of threadhstationary ceiving a loop of thread, a lever connected to the pin for moving the pin to Vcarry the loopy throughthe eye of the needle, an actuating plate mounted in the casing for rectilinear movement, a single spring connected to the lever and to the actuating plate adapted to the compresses when the actuating plate isv moved rearwardly and adapted to extend and withdraw the threading pin froml the eye of the needle when theiactuating plate is moved forwardly, a seatv in the casing to rotatably support the eye end ofthe needle with the latter in alignment with the threading pin, spring actuated fingers for autmatically rotating the'needle and then clamping the eye end of the latter to bring and retain said eye in registry with the threading pin when the actuating plate is moved rearwardly, and means to'automatically release the fingers from the needle upon movement of the actuating plate forwardly, said last-named means including coacting members respectively carried by one of said fingers and said actuating plate. i

3. A threading device for hand sewing needles,

, comprising a casing, a threading pin mounted to slide transverselyin the casing, va guide'means' in the path of the pin and of the needle for'rel gle spring connected to the lever and to the actuatinnr plate vadapted to be compressed when the actuating plate is moved rearwardly and adapted to extend and withdraw the threading pin from the eye of the needle when the actuating plate is moved forwardly, a seat in the casing to rotatably support the eye end of the needlewith the latter in alignment with the threading pin, spring actuated fingers for automatically rotating the needle and then clamping the eye end of the latter to bring and retain said eye in registry with the threading pin when the actuating plate is moved rearwardly, and means to automatically release the fingers from the needle upon movement of the actuating plate forwardly, said last-named means including a pin Xed to and rising -from one of the fingers, said actuating plate having, a cam slot receiving said pin and having an oblique side wall acting on the pin to retract the associated finger When 'said actuating plate moves forwardly.

4. A threading device for hand sewing needles, comprising a casing, a threading pin mounted to slide transversely in the casing, a guide means in the path of the pin and of the needle for receiving a loop of thread, a lever connected to the pin for moving the pin to carry the loop through the eye of the needle, an actuating plate mounted in the casing for rectilinear movement, a single spring connected to the lever and to the actuating plate adapted to be compressed when the actuating plate is moved rearwardly and adapted to extend and withdraw the threading pin from the eye -of the needle when the actuating plate is,- moved forwardlya seat in the casing to rotatablyxsupport the eye end of the needle with the l latter in. alignment withy thethreading pin,l spring actuated lingers for automatically rotating the needle and then clamping the veyeend of the latter to brin-gand retain saidv eye in registry with the threading pin when the actuating plate is moved rearwardly, and means to automatically release the fingers lfrom the needlev upon movement of the actuating plate forwardly, one of said fingers having an oblique slot, the other finger bei-ng Slidably mounted for movement longitudi-l nallylofqthe casing and having an oblique lug projecting therefrom i-nto said oblique slot Whereby retraction of therst-named finger will automatically cause retraction of the other finger and swinging movement of the first-named finger to`- Ward the second-named finger will automatically cause ,forward movement of said second-'named finger. f Y l i 5. In a threading device for hand sewing needlesaneedle rotating and clamping means for registering the eye of the needle with a threading pin and securing the` needle eye in such registered position, comprising a clamping fmger mounted for vsliding movement toward and from the needle, a second finger pvotally mounted for movementftoward and away from the rst.. named finger, said first-named finger having a forwardly extending oblique lug on one side thereof, the other inger having a similarly extendingoblique slot slidably receiving said lug, a springA normally acting l to swing the secondnamedlnger toward the first-named finger, and means; to operatively connect the second-named finger with an actuatngplate.

6. In a needle `threading device, a casing, a thread-ing pin mounted to slide transversely in the casing, a guide means in the path of the pin and of the needle for receiving a loop of thread,

a lever connected to the pin for moving the pin sesame to carry the loop throughl theI eye ot the needle, an actuating platemounted thecasingi for pivotall and rectilinear movement, means for manually moving said actuating platea single spring connected to'- thelever and to. the actuating plate adapted tobe compressedwhen. the

. actuating plate is moved rearwardly,y and adapted to expand and withdraw the Vthreading pin from the'eye of the needle when the actuating plate is' moved forwardly, said actuating lplate having a longitudinal elongatedv slot provided at its forward end-With at lateral extension, a guide pin carried by the casing and projecting into said slot, saidE spring being connected to` the ac-v tuating plate topivot-ally swing the latter-and allow'r passage `of the guidepin into said `slot ex'- tensionv iny case the'actuating plateis fully moved rearwardly, said lever and said actuating plate having contracting members for swinging theacy tuating plate so as to d'isengage the guide pin from the` slot extension'when threading'move ment of the threading pin is completed.

' '7. A device for threading hand Asewing needles, comprising a casing, a floating threading pin mounted to slide transversely in the casing, guide means in the pathof the pinand of the needle for receiving fa' loop, of YthreadLa lever connected to the pin" for moving the pin to. carry the loop through thejeye of the needle, an. actuating member in the casing, -and'a single spring connectedto the lever and to the actuating member and adaptedv to b e compressed when the actuating member is moved in one directionl and to expand and withdraw thethreading pin from .the eye of the needle,when the actuating plate is moved inv the oppositedirection, said lever having a slot at, one ler1d,.said threading pin' having. an angularly bent end loosely disposed in said slot. y t

v JOHN C. LOUNSBURY. 

